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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE VOLUME 1 (2015) - page 1

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

To the Student

vii

Tips for Using this Book

viii

To the Instructor

ix

Introduction to the Persian Alphabet

xi

Notes on the Pronunciation of Persian

xiv

Introductory Exercise

xvi

Unit1: Cultural Note: Greetings 1

2

Short Conversations: Hello, how are you?/ What is your name?

Alphabet: alef, be, nun, zebar, zir, pish, pe, te, ye, vaav

Vocabulary: List 1

Listening Comprehension: Greetings and Numbers

Grammar: A Note on Names, Derivation, Word Stress, Syllable Structure

Unit 2: Cultural Note: Greetings 2

23

Short Conversations: Thank you!

Alphabet: dâl, re, ze, sin, shin, mim, e, he

Vocabulary: List 1

Listening Comprehension: Greetings, What do I like?

Grammar: Sentence Structure or Word Order, Subject Pronouns, Verb Endings

Writing Exercise

Speaking Activity

Unit 3: Cultural Note: Introductions

48

Short Conversations: I am Asadi!

Alphabet: jim, lâm, he

Vocabulary: List 1

Listening Comprehension: Introduction and Asking Questions, About My Brother

Grammar: The Verb “to be”, Negating the Verb “to be”

Writing Exercise

Speaking Activity

Unit 4: Cultural Note: Food

63

Short Conversations: What would you like to drink/eat?

Alphabet: che, khe, zhe, khâ

Vocabulary: List 1

Listening Comprehension: What do I eat for Breakfast, Every Day conversation

Grammar: Possession, âyâ

Writing Exercise

Speaking Activity

Unit 5: Cultural Note: Diverse Iran

79

Short Conversations: Where are you from?

Alphabet: fe, qâf, kâf, gâf

Vocabulary: List 1, List 2: Numbers, List 3: English words in Persian

Listening Comprehension: I Have a Class Today, Where Is Eram Hotel?, I am Sulmaz

Grammar: Using Pronouns, Present Tense Conjugation, Counting

Writing Exercise

Listening Comprehension: I Have a Class Today, Where Is Eram Hotel?, I am Sulmaz

iii

يياهتيلاعف باستحا اب نامز نيا .تفرگ راکهب يسلک تعاس 90 لوط رد يبيرقت روط هب ناوتیم ار باتک نيا يشزومآ داوم

زا و تشذگ دهاوخن حیضوت و ینارنخس هب هجوچیه هب سلک نامز هک ضرف نيا اب و ،دوش ماجنا سلک رد تسا رارق هک تسا

تسا رارق باتک ياهنيرمت رتشيب .تخادرپ دنهاوخ یگناخ یاهفیلکت ماجنا هب تعاس ود ات کي بش ره نايوجشناد رگید یوس

زومآنابز یارب سلک زا نوریب ناشماجنا هک دینارذگب ییاهتیلاعف هب ار سلک نامز ديناوتيم هک اجنآ ات سپ دنوش ماجنا هناخ رد

ميرواب نيا رب ام اريز ،تسا رادروخرب یدایز تیمها زا هتکید ،یشزومآ شور نیا رد .لما و نتفگ نخس دننام ،تسین ریذپناکما

تيوقت و دبای شرورپ نابز يريگداي هيلوا لحارم رد دياب ابفلا فورح و اهادص نایم طابترا یرارقرب يياناوت و اهادص رب طلست هک

ناشیا زا ،ديرادرب نازومآنابز شود زا ار يدرف يارجا راشف و ینارگن هکنيا يارب و ،دينک رارکت بترم ار اههملک و اهادص .دوش

.دننک رارکت ار اههژاو و اهادص يهورگ تروص هب ديهاوخب

تعاس عومجم

یارب هک یاهتفه دادعت

رد راک تاعاس عومجم

تعاس تدم

همانرب رد یسلک

تسا مزل سرد هد مامتا

هتفه لوط رد هناخ

هتفه رد یسرد

90

15

12

6

90

22-23

8

4

90

30

6

3

لیمکت یارب مزل تاعاس دادعت

و دنک کمک امش هب سلک ندرک رترابرپ رد داوم نيا هک ميراوديما ام .دريگيمن ار بوخ راگزومآ کي ياج يباتک چيه ،نيقيهب

.دزاس ريذپلد ياهبرجت ناتنايوجشناد يارب ار يسراف نيريش نابز يريگداي

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

x

T O T H E I N S T R U C T O R

This textbook, and the continuing books in the Persian of Iran series, are constructed around a philosophy

of teaching and learning Persian in a communicative manner designed to maximize students proficiency.

We ask that you, the instructor, read this preface as well as the Preface to the Student, and that you

have your students read the latter and discuss it with them in class, so that everyone understands the

principles underlying the structure and contents of these materials.

In this volume, the alphabet is presented in a way designed to take advantage of both letter frequency

and letter shape. Vocabulary is introduced according to function, not alphabet, but by presenting letters

based on frequency, students will be able to write many of the words they learn using the Persian script

from the beginning. In addition, we introduce our students to both formal and informal varieties, based

on the principle that learning to speak in a culturally appropriate manner is a part of proficiency that

should not be ignored. The extent to which you emphasize each variety will depend on your program

and the needs of your students.

These materials are designed so that students can do most of the preparation and actual learning

of new material outside of class, in order for class time to be spent doing interactive activities, watching

and practicing conversations, and working with Persian (instead of hearing about it). In this first

edition, students have available to them audiovisual materials on the website, including visual footage

demonstrating how to write all the letters of the alphabet, and dialogues, whose texts are found in

the Appendix.

We believe that it is crucial to expect a high degree of effort from students in preparing for class,

and equally, that this effort must be rewarded by spending class time doing interactive and small-group

activities that permit maximum participation by all students. Since the book is designed so that the

students can do much of their learning outside of class, each person may work at his or her own pace, so

that differences in learning speed need not affect the class as a whole. It is also important that students

realize right away that the burden of learning is on them, because this helps them to become active

learners. Finally, it is essential to follow through on the expectations you set. Do not reward students

who have not prepared, and punish those who have, by “teaching” them what they should have done

outside of class.

The listening exercises are all meant to be done outside class as part of homework and preparation.

We have specified the drills that are meant to be done as homework and those that are meant to be

done in class as interactive or small group exercises and projects. We suggest that, in preparing your

lesson plans, you aim to have at least some interactive work each and every class period, and that the

time set aside for this increases as students learn more vocabulary so that, by the end of the book, you

are spending 75% of class time with students working together speaking directly with each other. Small

group work and pair work is essential for students to build skills. Accuracy will improve if students see

it rewarded, and it will not suffer if we do not correct every single utterance.

xi

PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

We believe that everyone can produce Persian sounds accurately and that it is necessary to encourage

and even to expect accuracy from the outset. These early units are an opportunity for you and the

students to focus all of your attention on the phonetic aspects of Persian, and it is also better to form

good habits from the start. Your attitude as a teacher of Persian should be that everyone can learn to

produce these sounds accurately.

Each unit includes a vocabulary section complete with several exercises and activities that activate new

words. Students should prepare the vocabulary and listen to dialogues on the website before class and

be prepared to perform similar tasks in class. At this stage, it is not our goal for the students to write

out the dialogues. Instead, it is good training for the students to develop confidence in their aural and

oral skills at this stage, and they need to be encouraged to rely on their “phonographic” rather than their

“photographic” memory. Everyone has natural aural and oral language learning skills; no one learned her

or his native language through reading.

While we have included short cultural notes in the book, we have not provided detailed lesson plans in

order to give you the flexibility to proceed as you wish and focus on the aspects you deem important.

Use the videos, pictures, and cultural notes as starting points to encourage questions and discussion, and

expand as you wish. We suggest that you have students listen to each dialogue several times as follows:

(1) Before explaining anything, have them watch for general content, then ask what they understood.

(2) Have them watch again, as many times as necessary, to listen for individual words or expressions,

followed by discussion and explanation of what they heard. (3) Have them watch a final time, after they

have understood what is said, to focus on how it is said. After that, the students should be ready to try

out the expressions themselves, so let them make up their own situations and act them out. Your own

contribution will be vital to the success of these materials.

The material in this textbook can be covered well in approximately ninety contact hours, depending on

the amount of time devoted to the various activities, assuming class time is not spent on lectures and

students will devote one to two hours a night to homework. Most of the exercises in the textbook are

meant to be done as homework. Spend as much class time as possible on activities that students cannot

complete at home alone; such activities might include speaking and dictation. This approach stresses

dictation because we believe that the mastery of sounds and the ability to relate sounds and writing

must be developed early. Repeat sounds and words many times over, and have students repeat as a group

to take the pressure off individual performance.

Contact Hours

Homework Hours

Number of Weeks to

Total Contact

per Week

per Week

Complete Units 1-10

Hours

6

12

15

90

4

8

22-23

90

3

6

30

90

Hours to Completion

Of course, no textbook can take the place of a good teacher. It is our hope that these materials will help

you to enrich your classroom and make learning Persian an enjoyable experience for your students.

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

xii

I

N T R O D U C T I O N

The Persian Alphabet

The Persian alphabet contains thirty-two letters consisting of consonants and vowels, and eight

symbols that function as vowels and pronunciation markers, or as markers of certain grammatical

functions. Units One through Ten will introduce these letters and symbols individually.

First, take a look at the alphabet in the chart below, which shows the thirty-two letters.

Starting in the upper right-hand corner, the chart reads across from right to left, which is the

direction Persian is written and read. To see and hear the pronunciation of these letters, listen

to Introduction-1 on the website.

ت

پ

ب

ا

ح

چ

ج

ث

ر

ذ

د

خ

ش

س

ژ

ز

ظ

ط

ض

ص

ق

ف

غ

ع

م

ل

گ

ک

ي

ه

و

ن

The next chart shows the eight extra-alphabetical symbols. They include vowels, pronunciation

symbols, and grammatical endings. These symbols will be introduced in Units One through Ten

along with the alphabet.

ـ

ـ

ـ

ـ

ء

ـ

آ

ـ

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

Special Characteristics of the Persian Script

The Persian writing system has several major characteristics that distinguish it from its European

counterparts:

1. Persian is written from right to left. One consequence of this ordering system is that Persian books,

newspapers, and magazines open and are read in the opposite direction from European and American

printed materials.

2. Letters are connected in both print and handwriting. Unlike languages written in the Latin alphabet,

which are generally connected only in certain types of handwriting, Persian letters are written connected

in both print and handwriting. The following are individual letters which are written one after the other

in correct order, but which do not form a word written this way:

ن ا ن

When they are connected, however, they do spell a word “نان ” /nân/ which means bread.

Notice that not all the letters in نان connect to the following letter. This is a characteristic of certain

letters that you will master as you learn to write. See if you can identify the non-connecting letters in

the following words:

تقو

تسود

نز

ردام

درس

As you learn the alphabet, note which letters connect and which do not, and when you write words, do

not lift the pen or pencil from the page until you get to a natural break with a non-connecting letter.

3. Letters have slightly different shapes depending on where they occur in a word. The chart on the next

page gives the forms of the letters when written independently; these forms vary when the letters are

written in initial/medial and final position. “Initial position” means not connected to a previous letter,

“medial position” is usually written the same as the initial position, except that it is connected to the

previous letter, and “final position” means connected to the preceding letter only. Most letters have a

particularly distinct shape when they occur in final position, similar to the way English can have capital

letters at the beginning of words. The chart below gives you an idea of the extent of this variation. You

will see that each letter retains a basic shape throughout; this is the core of the letter. If the letter has

dots, their number and position also remain the same. Note that the last three letters, which all connect,

appear to have a “tail” in their independent and final forms which drops off when they are connected

and is replaced by a connecting segment that rests on the line. Try to find the core shape of each letter,

its dots, if any, the connecting segments, and the final tail in the following chart.

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

xiv

Initial/Medial

Independent Shape

Final Position

Position

اـ

اـ ، ا

ا

تـ

ـتـ ، ـت

ت

جـ

ـجـ ، ـج

ع

عـ

عـ ، ـع

ج

As you learn each letter of the alphabet, you will learn to read and write all its various shapes. You will

be surprised how quickly you master them with a little practice!

4. Persian script consists of two separate “layers” of writing. The basic skeleton of a word is made

up of the consonants and the three vowels that have alphabetic forms, which were historically called

long vowels following the Arabic tradition. The other three vowels, historically called short vowels,

and other pronunciation and grammatical markers are separated from the consonant skeleton of the

word. This second layer, called vocalization, is normally omitted in writing, and the reader recognizes

words without it. Compare the following two versions of the same text, a line of poetry, the second

of which represents the normal way of writing, without vocalization, and the first of which has all the

pronunciation markers added:

تسوا زا مرخ ناهج هک منآ زا مرخ ناهج هب

Most books, magazines, and newspapers are unvocalized, as the following text demonstrates.

تسوا زا مرخ ناهج هک منآ زا مرخ ناهج هب

In unvocalized texts, there may be several possible pronunciations for one written word; however,

because of context this rarely results in ambiguous word meaning. On the other hand, the meaning of a

phrase may not be immediately apparent to the reader because of unwritten grammatical markers, such

as the ezafe marker, which will be covered in Unit Four. For this reason, reading a text aloud without

prior preparation may be difficult.

In this textbook series, vocalization marks will be used when new vocabulary is introduced, but

thereafter you will be expected to have memorized the pronunciation of the word, and these marks will

be omitted. Since Persian speakers normally read and write without vocalization, it is best to become

accustomed to reading and writing that way from the beginning.

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

Notes On The Pronunciation Of Persian

In addition to the characteristics of the Persian script, you should also be aware of certain features

of the sounds of Persian.

1. Persian does not have a one-to-one correspondence between sound and letter. Due to historical

reasons, many Arabic words have been borrowed into Persian, including their original Arabic

spelling. The pronunciation of these words has been modified to fit the Persian sound system, which

contains fewer consonants than Arabic, meaning that there are multiple ways of writing certain

sounds in Persian. For example, both Persian and Arabic have a letter ز /z/ in their writing and sound

systems, but the letters ذ ض ظ , which represent different sounds in Arabic, are all pronounced as

ز /z/ in Persian.

2. The Persian writing system is regularly phonetic, which means that words are generally written

as they are pronounced. American English speakers sometimes confuse pronunciation and spelling

without realizing it. For example, think about the word television. This word has been adopted into

Persian and is pronounced something like televizyun. It is also spelled with the Persian letter that

corresponds to the sound z, because that is the way it is pronounced. English spelling, on the other

hand, requires an s, even though there is no s sound in the word. Pay attention to the sounds of the

Persian letters, and avoid associating English letters with them. Learn to recognize and pronounce

the sounds correctly now, and not only will you avoid spelling problems, but you will also learn and

retain vocabulary more easily.

3. Most Persian consonantal sounds are similar to sounds you already know. Many of the sounds of

Persian are similar to sounds present in English, but do not assume that they are exactly the same.

Pay attention to what parts of the mouth you must use to produce these sounds properly from the

beginning, when you are able to focus the most attention on them. Just as you must train your arm

to hit a tennis ball, you must train your mouth to make the Persian sounds properly. Do not allow

yourself to speak lazily, as that will hinder your ability to

speak with good pronunciation. Keep your mind on the

sounds you are making at all times. With practice, you will

be able to do this with less and less effort.

4. Persian vowel sounds: You may have been taught in

school that English has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u. This is true of

the English writing system, but in speech, English has many

possible vowel sounds, which are ambiguously represented

in our writing system by only these five symbols. Compare,

for example, the vowel quality in each of the following

words: book, bug, blue, black, bother, beep, bed, bid. In

contrast, Persian has only six vowel sounds.

Shahrzad Mahootian, P: 286

Persian. Routledge Descriptive Grammars

Routledge, London, Great Britain, 1997.

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

xvi

Introductory Exercise

Listen to the audio file. You hear the pronunciation of the words with their meaning in English. Write the English

words you hear. Which words sound familiar to you? Some of the words you hear are the words you will learn

in the first 10 units.

Persian Word

Persian Word

Persian Word

Symbol used

English Words

with the Sound

with the Sound

with the Sound

in the book

with Similar Sounds

at the End

in the Middle

at the Beginning

for transcribing

Persian words

arm, father, hot

â

امش .3

ردام .2

هرآ .1

a

cat, black

ردارب .6

درس .5

زا .4

met, bed

e

هناخ .9

ردپ .8

ناحتما .7

hit, sitting, see, heat

i

یراد .12

ريپ .11

ناريا .10

four, go, home

o

ود .15

اجک .14

قاتا .13

u

blue, food, put, could

وراد .18

روش .17

وا .16

ow

oh!, row

ور .20

زورون .19

b

bad, lab

بآ .23

حبص .22

هلب .21

did, lady

d

داتسا .26

دادم .25

وجشناد .24

find, if

f

فيک .29

رتفد .28

ادرف .27

give, flag

g

گرزب .32

یگدنز .31

هبرگ .30

This sound is similar to

the sound you made

gh/q

when you were a kid and

غولش .35

لغش .34

راغ ،یلاق .33

you would gulp water

h

how, hello

هد .38

راهان .37

تفه .36

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

xviii

Persian Word

Persian Word

Persian Word

Symbol Used

English Words

with the Sound

with the Sound

with the Sound

in the Book for

with Similar Sounds

at the End

in the Middle

at the Beginning

Transcribing

Persian Words

y

yes, yellow

یاچ .41

ديع .40

کي .39

k

cat, back

کي .44

اکيرمآ .43

روشک .42

l

leg, little

لدنص .47

سلک .46

بل .45

m

man, lemon

ملس .50

اما .49

نم .48

n

no, ten

نز .53

یلدنص .52

هن .51

p

pet, map

پوس .56

تکرام رپوس .55

ريپ .54

r

red, try

رود .59

درم .58

زور .57

s

sun, miss

سدنهم .62

تسود .61

ملس .60

sh

she, crash

شزرو .65

هنشت .64

ماش .63

t

tea, getting

تشه .68

رتخد .67

وت .66

ch

check, church

چيه .71

کچوک .70

یاچ .69

v

voice, five

واگ .74

هدزاود .73

شزرو .72

Listen to the audio file to

kh

خيم .77

مروخیم .76

بوخ .75

hear this sound

zh

/zh/, as in mirage

ژاراگ .80

هژم .79

نپاژ .78

z

zoo, lazy

زيم .83

همانزور .82

نز .81

Glottal stop. Say “uh-oh!”

‘

In between “uh” and “oh”

تعاس .84

there is a glottal stop.

xix

PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

UNIT 1

ص

آ

ض

ب

ط

پ

ظ

ت

ع

ث

غ

ج

ف

چ

ق

ح

ک

خ

گ

د

ل

ذ

م

ر

ن

ز

و

ژ

ه

س

ي

ش

؟هروط هچ امش لاح ،ملس

Hi, how are you?

؟هيچ امش مسا

What is your name?

Cultural Note

یگنهرف تشاددای

Greetings 1

۱ یسرپلاوحا و ملس

”؟هروطهچ امش لاح ،ملس” [Salâm, hâl-e shomâ chetore?] is the most common way to greet someone in everyday

conversation. The phrase literary means “Hello, how are you?” and it is a polite and formal way to start an

interaction with someone. Persian greetings are usually long and detailed. They may consist of several exchanges

and often include questions about family as well. However, sometimes this phrase is used as a quick greeting

as familiar faces pass one another in a hallway of an office or on the street. In such cases, people may use the

shortened version of the phrase “؟امش لاح ،ملس” [Salâm, hâl-e shomâ ?] The answer to such a quick greeting

is usually equally as short, such as “منونمم ،ملس” [Salâm, mamnunam] or “؟نیروطچ امش !بوخ ،ملس” [Salâm,

khub! shomâ chetorin?]. When two women greet each other saying ”؟هروطچ امش لاح ،ملس” [Salâm, hâl-e shomâ

chetore?], they usually shake hands. If they already know each other well, they also often kiss twice, once on each

cheek. Men usually greet another in the same fashion, shaking hands and kissing on the cheeks. However, men and

women do not shake hands or kiss one another, unless they are mahram to each other (i.e. brother and sister,

father and daughter, husband and wife, or uncle and niece), or if they know each other well enough and know that

it is appropriate to do so.

Short Conversations هاتوک یاهوگتفگ

In class, listen to the audio files and transcribe the conversations. At home repeat what you hear several times

and try to follow the rhythm. During the next class time, you will work with a classmate to create a scenario that

uses these expressions.

.تسا هدش هتشون باتک یاهتنا رد اهوگتفگ نیا یسراف نتم

-

. esme shomâ chiye?

. esme man samâne ast.

3

PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

...ي...ﻳ...

...و...

...ن...ﻧ...

...ت

ﺗ...

...پ

ﭘ...

...ب... ﺑ...

...ا...آ...

This unit will introduce you to seven letters of the Persian alphabet as well as the vowel symbols.

Part 1: alef

/â/

___ا____آ___

ايرد

بارس

نامسآ

* Note: These words show how alef appears in different

positions in a word. You do not need to know how to

1. Listen to the audio file for آ alef.

read these words.

The name of the first letter of the Persian alphabet is alef. Alef has two main functions, the first of which will

be introduced here, and the second of which will be introduced later in this unit. For now, alef represents the

vowel sound /â/. This sound is a deep, open sound, somewhat similar to the a in talk or father but with a bit of

the sound /o/ in it. Note that alef does not connect to the letter that follows it.

2. Watch the video and follow the instructions.

................................................................................................... .آ

.....................................................................................................ا

3. Mark X for each word you hear /â/.

5. Numbers in Persian: Like English they are

written and read from left to right.

□ . ٣

□ .٢

□ .١

Number in

Persian

Pronunciation in

English

equivalent

Persian

□ .۵

□ .۴

/sefr/

4. Circle آ or ا in the text. Report to your

0

0

instructor how many “ ا / آ ” you identified

1

/yek/

in the text?

1

2

/do/

2

/se/

3

3

4

/châhâr/ (/châr/(

4

5

/panj/

5

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

4

6. Watch the video and write the numbers in Persian three times. Read them aloud as you write.

1-2-3-4-5………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………

7. Listen to the audio file and write the number you hear.

.۵

.۴

.۳

.۲

.١

.10

.9

.8

.7

.6

8. Listen to the audio file and check the number that you hear.

□ ۱ □ ۵ □۵ .3

□ ۳ □ ۲ □۴ .2

□ ۵ □ ۳ □۱ .1

□ ۲ □ ۱ □۳ .5

□ ۳ □ ۴ □۲ .4

کرابم

بش

زاب

Part 2: be /b/

___ب____ﺑ___

1. Listen to the audio file for ب be.

The second letter of the Persian alphabet, be, is pronounced like the English “b.” Unlike alef, this is a

connecting letter, which means that it connects to any letter following it in the same word.

2. Watch the video and follow the instructions.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ب

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ﺑ

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

3. Watch the video and write the following words.

................................................................................................................... اب

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ب آ

............................................................................................................... ب اب

4. Listen and check when you hear the /b/ sound in the word.

□ .۵

□ .۴

□ .٣

□ .٢

□ .١

5. Circle the letter ب in the following text. Report to your instructor how many “ب” you

identified in the text.

بتك و يمسر نوتم و تابتاكم و دانسا .تسا يسراف ناريا مدرم كرتشم و يمسر طخ و نابز

ياههناسر و تاعوبطم رد يموق و يلحم ياهنابز زا هدافتسا يلو دشاب طخ و نابز نيا اب دياب يسرد

.تسا دازآ يسراف نابز رانك رد ،سرادم رد اهنآ تايبدا سيردت و يهورگ

ناريا يملسا يروهمج يساسا نوناق مهدزناپ لصا

روشک يمسر مچرپ و خيرات ،طخ ،نابز :مود لصف

6. Listen and write the numbers you hear.

.٥

.۴

.٣

.٢

.١

Part 3: nun

/n/

___ن____ﻧ___

نان

گنس

کمن

1. Listen to the audio file for ن nun.

The letter nun is pronounced like the English “n.” Nun is a connecting letter whose shape resembles that of ب

in initial and medial positions, except for the placement of the dot, which comes above the tooth. It differs from

ب in that the independent and final forms of ن take a characteristic “tail” shape that dips well below the line.

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

6

2. Watch the video and follow the instructions.

............................................................................................................ﻧ

ن

3-1. Watch the video and write the following words.

.......................................................................................انب

نان

.....................................................................................ناب

نابآ

3-2. Watch the video and write the following words.

....................................................................................نآ

بان

4. Listen and check when you hear /n/ sound in the word.

□ .۵

□ .۴

□ .٣

□ .٢

□ .١

5. Watch the video and write the numbers

Pronunciation

in Persian four times. Read them aloud as

Number in

Persian

in

you write. Use the chart on the left as a

English

equivalent

pronunciation guide.

Persian

6-7-8-9-10

6

/shesh/ (/shish/)

6

………………………………

7

/haft/

7

………………………………

8

/hasht/

………………………………

8

………………………………

/noh/

9

9

………………………………

10

/dah/

10

6. Listen to the audio and write the number you hear.

.۵

.۴

.۳

.۲

.١

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

7. Circle the letter ن in the following text.

Report to your instructor how many “ن” you

یریگیم هک ییاهسکع

identified in the text.

،ینیزگیمرب هک یتاعوضوم و

.دنکیم راکشآ ار وت نورد صخش

،تاعوضوم هب وت یکیدزن نازیم

. تساهنآ هب وت قایتشا زا ناشن

8. Listen and repeat.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

9. Listen to the audio file and write the word you hear.

.٥

.۴

.٣

.٢

.١

Part 4: zebar, zir, pish

/a, e, o/ ـــــــــــــ

1. Watch the video and listen to the audio file for ـــــــ a e o vowel markings

As you learned in the introduction, Persian has six vowel sounds, but only three of them have alphabetic equiva-

lents. Three of the vowel sounds in Persian are indicated in Persian by markings written above or below the shape

of the word. By convention, these vowels are written above or below the consonant they follow. Writing vowels

is the third and final step in writing a word, after both the skeleton and the dots have been completed. Although

at the beginning of words, these markers sit on or under an alef, these vowels are usually not written at all; they

are generally used only in teaching language and for unfamiliar words.

The names of these vowel symbols are zebarـــ, zirــ, and pishـــ .

1. Zebar, which is written as a diagonal dash above the letter, sounds like the a sound in apple.

2. Zir is written as a diagonal dash below the letter. It is pronounced like the “e” in “bet.”

3. Lastly, pish is written similar to a small, diagonal number 9 above the letter. It sounds like a pure letter “o,” not like

the English “o,” which often has a hidden “u” sound after it. Try pronouncing the word boat slowly. The lips round

at the end of the “o” sound, becoming more like a “u.” The Persian pish is only the pure “o” sound, without the “u.”

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

8

بش

ملس

ربا

ــــــــاــــــ

ــــــــاــــــ

باتک

تخرد

رختسا

درک

گرزب

قاتا

ــــــــاــــــ

2-1. Watch the video and follow the instructions.

............................................................................................ ﺑ

ﺑ

ﺑ

..............................................................................................ا

ا

ا

2-2. Watch the video and follow the instructions.

...........................................................................نب

نان

.............................................................................ابا

انب

............................................................................انبا

انا

3. Listen and check when you hear the /a/ sound in the word (as opposed to /â/).

□ .۵

□ .۴

□ .٣

□ .٢

□ .١

4. Mark X for each word in which you hear /â/ (as opposed to /a/).

□ .۵

□ .۴

□ .٣

□ .٢

□ .١

5. Listen and write the words you hear.

.٥

.۴

.٣

.٢

.١

.۱۰

.۹

.۸

.۷

.۶

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

6. Listen to the audio file and check the

7. Read the following words with your partner.

numbers that you hear.

ابا

.۱

□ ۱

□ ۷

□۶ .1

□ ۹

□ ۳

□۴ .2

نابآ .2

□ ۲

□ ۵

□

۱

.3

□ ۵

□ ۲

□۱۰ .4

ناباب .3

□ ۳

□ ۱۰

□۸ .5

نبا .4

□ ۴

□ ۶

□۹ .6

□ ۷

□ ۱

□۵ .7

انبآ .۵

□۱۰

□ ۵

□

۳

.8

□ ۶

□ ۹

□۱ .9

□۸

□۴

□۲ .10

8. Circle the following vowel markings in the following text from the Quran.

ـــــــــــــ

9. Homework: Memorize giving your phone number digit by digit. While someone would not actually give his

phone number this way in Persian, your goal for now is to review numbers 1-10.

10. In class: Ask your classmates for their phone numbers. Write their names and numbers in the list. Use

this question to ask for their numbers: shomâre-ye telefonetun chand-e?

؟هدنچ نوتنفلت یهرامش

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

10

نفلت یهرامش

مان

:منفلت یهرامش

Shomâreye telefonam:

__ ت__ ﺗ__

__پ__ ﭘ __

Part 5: pe, te

/p/, /t/

تسب

باتک

پوت

پوت

رپب

رينپ

1. Listen to the audio file for پ pe ت te.

پ pe: The name of the next letter is pe, which is pronounced like the English /p/. It is written exactly like

ب but with three dots below it.

ت te: The next letter, te, is pronounced like a clear, frontal English “t” like in Tom.

2. Writing پ and ت : Watch the video and follow the instructions.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . پ

ﭘ

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ت

ﺗ

3. Watch the videos and write the following words.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . نابات

تابن

پاپ

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .نآ

نابآ

ناتا

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .اپ

انب

نتآ

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

4. Because pe and te are familiar sounds, let’s continue working on distinguishing between /a/ and

/â/. Listen and check when you hear the /â/ sound in the word (as opposed to /a/).

□ .۵

□ .۴

□ .٣

□ .٢

□ .١

5. Circle the letters پ and ت in the

following texts. Report to your instruc-

tor how many پ and ت you identified

in the text.

6. Listen and write the words you hear.

.٥

.۴

.٣

.٢

.١

.۱۰

.۹

.۸

.۷

.۶

7. Connect the letters to form words as shown in the example. Sound the words out as you write them.

......تابن

←

ت + ا + ب + ن

←

ن + ا + ن + ب

←

ن + ب

← ن + ا + ب + ا + ت

←

ن + ت + آ

SHAHSAVARI | ATWOOD

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8. In class, read the following words with your partner.

پاپ .۵

انب .۴

نابات .3

نابآ .۲

بات .۱

اپ .۱۰

نانآ .۹

نان .۸

تابن .۷

نتآ .۶

نت .۱۲

نب .۱۱

Part 6: ye

/y/, /i/

يا__ ي__ ﻳ__ ﻳا__

ياهمروس

يبآ

راديب

ناريا

1. Listen to the audio file for ی ye.

The letter ye is the first of four letters that function as both a consonant and a vowel. It functions as a consonant

at the beginning of a word, or when preceded or followed by a vowel. In these cases, it is pronounced like /y/

in “yes.” When it functions as a vowel, it sounds like the /i/ in feet. Notice that the initial and medial shapes are

similar to those shapes of the letter ب only with two dots below. In the independent and final forms, it has a

long tail that goes well below the line before coming back up to the level of the line. In independent and final

positions, the two dots under the letter are not written. A ی at the beginning of a word makes the /y/ sound.

In order to get an /i/ sound at the beginning of a word we use the combination ـيا (alef + ye).

2. Writing ی : Watch the video and follow the instructions.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ﻲ

ي

ﻳ

Note

Pronounced

Ex.

Pronounced

Written

inân

i

نانيا

ﻳا

âydâ

ây

اديآ

يآ

ayyâm

ay

There are only a few words that start with “يا”

مايا

يا

ey

يا

ey

يا

There are only a few words that start with “يا”

oy

يا

oy

There are a few words that start with “يا”

يا

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PERSIAN OF IRAN TODAY

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